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249451 "Gary P. Laroff" <glaroff@c...> 2014‑07‑24 Addis Gothic carving tool imprint
I'm the guy who published the updated Addis overview on Oldtools in March
2006.  One of the benefits of that effort is all the communication it
spawned with other people interested in the Addis tools and their makers.

 

I don't think I contacted Oldtools about this find but in 2011 Charlie over
in the UK found a narrow Addis tool which was either modified or originally
was a No. 22 spoon bent shallow skew gouge with a rectangular shank taller
than thick with only about 3/16 inch of space on the side for the
inscription.  The stamp was indistinct but there is enough lettering intact
to describe it as "Gothic" or Germanic in style....some would describe it
also as "old English".  It was difficult to read but we were fairly sure the
inscription on the tool had the very bottom of "Addis" and below it "Prize"
is the only complete word and what seems like "Medal" is only barely there
with the top of "M", very top of the "d" and most of the "l" present.  There
is no way to see if it says Medal or Medals and any year date didn't fit at
all. 

 

I showed the tool around and sent off photos of the inscription but most
people said it could not be Addis for this or that reason.  Despite this,
Charlie was "100% sure that it is Addis" and after playing with Gothic
fonts, I felt it very well could be Addis.  For the last three years the
more objective people said we were dreaming.

 

Yesterday an email arrived from Barry in Christchurch, New Zealand with the
photo of a large Addis carver with Gothic imprint.  He found it covered with
paint in a recycling shop.  Crisp and clear, the inscription reads "J. B.
Addis" over "Prize Medal." over "1851".  

 

Our original information was that James Bacon Addis exhibited at the Great
Exhibition in 1851 and 1852 winning Prize Medals at both.  It might be that
his awards were in 1851 and 1862, not 1852.  His older brother, the
celebrated Samuel Joseph Addis, also exhibited but didn't win Prize Medals
so the 1851 imprint may have been bragging rights.  Later J. B. Addis tools
state "Prize Medals" in the plural or list strings of dates such as "9 PRIZE
MEDALS" over "51 & 62".  For now, I am estimating that the Gothic imprint
was either a one year indication or possibly something used during a longer
period up to 1862.  In either instant, we have a major verified new Addis
imprint.

 

Please continue to contact me regarding Addis information that you find.

 

Gary Laroff

Portland, Oregon
249460 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2014‑07‑24 RE: Addis Gothic carving tool imprint
Fellow Galoots, please read this excerpt from Gary Laroff R-E-A-L S-L-O-W:
  
> Yesterday an email arrived from Barry in Christchurch, New Zealand with the
> photo of a large Addis carver with Gothic imprint.  He found it covered with
> paint in a recycling shop.  Crisp and clear, the inscription reads "J. B.
> Addis" over "Prize Medal." over "1851".  

This is yet another example of the "You never know what you'll find unless and
until you LOOK."
 
GO! LOOK! Go to the flea markets, the tag / boot / garage / yard sales, the
antique shops, the junk shops, the recycling shops.
 
Go, because you just literally can't know if the time and effort will be
worthwhile before you actually search these places.
 
Kneel down to examine those "boxes of rust" on the ground under the front of the
vendors' tables, even though with every passing year it gets harder to
straighten up again!
 
You can't know. I was just three feet behind a ripoff artist who asked a widow
"How much do you want for this plane?" and got away with a nice #2 for $5.  (We
used to josh about getting a #1 off a widow for $5. This was close to that in
real life!) I would have offered her at least $150, it was that nice. Turned my
stomach to see someone obviously not well off being taken advantage of like
that.
 
If you have no room, you can at least save unappreciated items from the scrap
heap and get them back into "captivity".
 
Think about that......a circa 1851 tool (because it did not have the dates of
the later medals) made in England and found about 163 years later halfway around
the world in a recycling shop !
 
You are on an Ahab-like quest. Go forth!
 
John Ruth
One-time purchaser of a canvas roll of 24 Addis and Ashley Isles tools for $30
 
 
 

 
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249461 <ruby@m...> 2014‑07‑24 Re: Addis Gothic carving tool imprint
> Go, because you just literally can't know if the time and
> effort will be worthwhile before you actually search
> these places.

I think it was Todd that told me "the harder I look, the
luckier I get"

Ed Minch
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249473 Barry Armstrong <barmstrong@p...> 2014‑07‑25 RE: Addis Gothic carving tool imprint
"Yesterday an email arrived from Barry in Christchurch, New Zealand with the
photo of a large Addis carver with Gothic imprint.  He found it covered with
paint in a recycling shop.  Crisp and clear, the inscription reads "J. B.
Addis" over "Prize Medal." over "1851".  "  Gary Laroff, Portland, Oregon

"GO! LOOK! Go to the flea markets, the tag / boot / garage / yard sales, the
antique shops, the junk shops, the recycling shops." John Ruth

Hi I'm Barry in Christchurch, New Zealand, (recently subscribed to old tool
archives) and the lucky finder.

As John Ruth said  GO Look,    -   I went for my regular look at the refuse
recycling shop in town.
In a bin was a carving chisel, odd handle and I'm thinking Pfiel carving
chisel, quick grab, can't make out the name (combination of poor light, poor
eyesight and paint over the name stamp).
Put it together with a lot of other tools and paid for them feeling very
pleased with myself.

At home, a clean up and examination with magnifying glasses, not Pfiel but
Addis and quite different to the Ward & Payne SJ Addis chisels I have.

Onto the net and find this site. Obviously different to what has been
described, so contacted Gary Laroff and bingo. Very satisfying.

So that is the story behind the find

What does it look like?

Tried to do picture and wouldn't add to plain text, so to see it,  go to my
blog http://baroldstools.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/addis-brand-
tools.html">http://baroldstools.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/addis-brand-
tools.html

Cheers
Barry (Barold's tools) Armstrong
Christchurch, New Zealand

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